Russian monuments

NEW DELHI: A year after Russia sought to ban the Bhagavad Gita, the Iskcon Krishna temple in Moscow is facing closure by the Russian government. By January 15, 2013, Iskcon monks said their Moscow temple, the only Hindu temple in Russia, would be demolished by the city authorities.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives on Monday for a day of talks with the Indian government, the temple issue is likely to figure in the discussions, not least because the issue has been pursued by the foreign ministry.

Indian ambassador to Russia Ajai Malhotra has asked the Moscow authorities to give an extension to a temporary temple which is set to expire on December 31, 2012, until they complete the construction of a Vedic cultural centre. Asked about the proposed demolition, Russian ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin dismissed fears of demolition.

However, Iskcon monk Madanmohan Das said the demolition order has not been revoked, so the temple is due to come down in January, because the authorities said it "violates the urban building code" and has no legal grounds for existence.

In a statement, the temple officials said they feared that even the permanent temple would face the axe. "A source in the Moscow mayor's office said on condition of anonymity that Mayor Sergey Sobyanin also ordered to axe the permanent temple project, which Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and previous Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov had included in a joint declaration in 2006 as a symbol of cultural cooperation between the cities. Following the declaration, Indian ambassador Ajai Malhotra laid the cornerstone for the new project earlier this year," the statement said.

This year, Russia plans to push for land from the Indian government for a Russian orthodox church in Delhi. In 2004, Moscow's Iskcon temple was demolished and the Iskcon group was offered another plot to build a temple. Reports said the offer was withdrawn after Russian orthodox church members protested against the temple building plans.

Last year's Bhagavad Gita trial had brought Lok Sabha to its feet and in a rare move, Parliament had collectively asked Russia to prevent the ban. The latest issue of demolition promises to put another wrinkle in the bilateral relations.

Temple or any other building, if it doesn't meet the building codes... or if they have not bribed the right people or whatever is the problem...

This year, Russia plans to push for land from the Indian government for a Russian orthodox church in Delhi.

No room in India either?

_________________“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion […] but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.”

― Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

Most state Governments ( if not all ) will be delighted to have a Russian orthodox church .

The problem is the Russian embassay insists it being built in Delhi , a state where land is extremely expensive and the middle class has been forced out of the city . It may take a while before land can be allocated .

I would love to see a Russian orthodox church come up in my state . But somehow I have seen if you want something real bad you never get it .

This is nothing to do with any temple... this is something to do with that Siberian Archbishop that wanted to ban their holy book I suspect.

Otherwise it is pretty expensive real estate in Moscow too... a place well known for red tape.

_________________“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion […] but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.”

― Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

I suggest both Russian and Indian people shall not politicalize the issue. If a city municial government decides to disallow some religion building continue to exist, for building code consideration, of course it would make troubles with the church, but it does not means that state is forbidden this religion.

first of all india should find a place for the russian church in delhi no matter the cost .cuz this was the agreement between moscow and delhi city ...

another thing it is not about indians .the hindu temple has mostly russian devotees ..which numbers are in 10s of 1000s ... and trust me the issue has nothing to do with building code ..other temples have been demolished as well before .they were promised land somewhere else but were never given .. this is the last temple left ... ...most indian hindus will have thier own small temples in thier houses .. this temple in question is for the russian devotees mostly ....

TR1 wrote:Nationalists are a minority, whatever way you want to read it.

Nobody cares about Hindus in Russia, sorry. There are barely any as is.

Nationalists parties are not in a minority in Russia just that they are being suppressed by Putin .

Regardless of nationalists parties the overwhelming majority of Russians hate these Indians and other Asians who have flooded Moscow & other cities.

This Hindoo temple should immediately be destroyed before more local sentiments are hurt.

dude i am a christain but i still support this hindu temple .the reason being it creates goodwill between people to people between both countries ...

nick if u had said the same thing for uk i had agreed with u .cuz there seriously people have problems with radical islam ...but i dont think even in the next 50 years russia will have that kind of problems ...

nick u should travel to india sometimes and see how u are treated maybe then u wil change ur veiws ...ofcourse dont bring any drugs or u going straight to jail LOL just joking

Even if these temples converted all Russians to Hindu... they are still Russians.

To become Hindu does not change you into an Indian... or any other ethnic group.

_________________“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion […] but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.”

― Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

GarryB wrote:Even if these temples converted all Russians to Hindu... they are still Russians.

To become Hindu does not change you into an Indian... or any other ethnic group.

Hindooism is NOT a part of Russian culture so if they convert into Hindoos only their outside appearance will remain Russian but will be a third world hindoo from the inside as their mindset would have been totally polluted by hindoo rituals.

I don't believe the majorioty of Russian are all racialist, Nor became a Hindu means spiritually polluted. Yes, as all other nation, Russia will always belongs to all Russian, not foreigners, But at the age of globalization, almost all countries have a lot of foreigners, How to treat them marked what level of civilization the state has.

Hindooism is NOT a part of Russian culture so if they convert into Hindoos only their outside appearance will remain Russian but will be a third world hindoo from the inside as their mindset would have been totally polluted by hindoo rituals.

Most religions rely on tradition and beliefs that are more than a couple of centuries old. If you think such backward ideas like those in christian and Hindu and other religions would hold Russia back then you have my sympathy.

Honour, respect, tolerance, these are not new concepts... though they are rarely practised properly.

I am an athiest myself, but if others want to follow one religion or another then I have no problem with that.

_________________“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion […] but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact; non-Westerners never do.”

― Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order

TR1 wrote:I'd rather have some Indian philosophies spread than that of the Orthodox church.But thats just me.

I think you're in for a major disappointment. It seems to me that Russia is steadily going back to it's pre Comunist traditions which is how it should be. If you want pagan philosophies than you have the native rodoverje....which BTW, has heavily influenced Slavic Orthodoxy. If you compare for example Greek Orthodoxy with Russian one you can notice noticeable differences in rituals and traditions....Слава России

TR1 wrote:You are exactly right, I am majorly disappointed since religion in all forms (Christianity and Islam) has come back in force across Russia, and is causing new issues.

Both religions preach quite sensible values (Sharia law aside, but it was good for its time)

I find myself often encouraging religion in people if anything - if everyone lived their life according to the values laid out in them then we would have have a utopia on Earth.

But I encourage them to stay independent-minded and think for themselves too - for the trouble is not in the religions themselves, but in the mindsets of some of the people that follow them, or how religion is used and manipulated in order to control people, or the power commanded by religious heirarchies/clergies, etc...

It's not just a question of personal belief which can be a complicated matter depending on how you interpret religion. It's part of national and cultural identity. Without it you will have the situation of the 1990's again. Personally I'm not much a believer in the classical sense but still consider myself an Orthodox Christian at least nominally.